"I don't pick the justices, but I know if he were picked, I would support the man," Reid told CNN on Wednesday. "He’s a good person, has a great record and has been a tremendously good governor in spite of having to deal with some very big problems there."

Sandoval, a former federal judge, is being vetted for the position, it was reported Wednesday, though the governor's office said it has not been contacted by the White House.

"Neither Governor Sandoval nor his staff have been contacted by or talked to the Obama Administration regarding any potential vetting for the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court," said Mari St. Martin, Sandoval's communications director.

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said Sandoval is not being considered in an effort to compromise with Senate Republicans who have vowed not to approve a nominee for the conservative Scalia in Obama's last year in office.

"I talked to the president, I talked to the White House chief of staff many times," Reid said. "I talked to [Obama’s] political guy today. And he should pick who he thinks is best."

Republicans told CNN they weren't swayed by news Sandoval is under consideration.

"I think we can all understand in an election year they're going to try to turn this into political football and try to make the Republicans look bad," Indiana Sen. Dan Coats said. "We made the decision that this was about principle, not the personality."

GOP senators basically had a "unanimous agreement" against confirming an Obama nominee.

"We knew the White House will play games with us no matter what we did."